How to remove SearchMine from macOS?

How to remove SearchMine from macOS?

What is SearchMine?

Search mine is a form of browser hijacker that switches the homepage of your browsers to https://searchmine.net and sets the default search engine to SearchMine which uses Yahoo Search Engine to display search results. It also intrudes privacy by silently tracking all your search activities and displays unwanted advertisements throughout the browsing session.

In some cases, SearchMine malware also installs the SearchMine extension in your browser without any prior permission.

To avoid falling in the SearchMine trap, you must always be cautious when giving permission to install programs on your operating system. Certain bundled software and applications come with SearchMine as an add-on installation option. You must ensure that you uncheck or disagree to install SearchMine on your system during the installation of such bundled software.

How to remove SearchMine? Step-by-step procedure

If your system has SearchMine installed, then it can be a lengthy and sophisticated process to remove SearchMine entirely. However, the steps do the trick and you will not be bothered by the malicious application after the uninstallation.

Step 1: Remove suspicious profiles from your operating system

Profiles in Mac OS are used to control the behavior and properties of the applications and the operating system itself. Browser hijackers like SearchMine manipulate these profiles to prevent the user from uninstalling the hijackers or changing their parameters. They also limit the configuration options of browsers and other internet-based applications. To remove SearchMine from Mac, you need to delete such profiles from your Mac OS.

To remove suspicious or malicious profiles, please follow the steps below:

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
  2. Search for the Profiles icon in System Preferences. If there is no profile in your system, then you may skip this step and proceed to the next steps.
  3. If you find any suspicious profiles (or profiles that you have not created), click on them and remove them from the operating system. Click Remove to remove the profile from your system.

Step 2: Remove SearchMine from your browser

  1. First, you have to exit SearchMine. In the Apple menu bar (top-right corner of the screen), look for the SearchMine icon and click on it. Select
  2. Open Click on Applications from the left panel in the Finder window.
  3. Search for SearchMine in the list of applications. Right-click on the SearchMine app, and click on Move to Trash.
  4. Once trashed, go to the desktop and right-click on the Trash icon. Then select Empty Trash.
  5. Now, we have to remove the malicious files from your system:
  6. Click on the desktop. Choose Go and select Go to Folder.
  7. Type the following paths one by one:
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents
  • /Library/Application Support
  • /Library/LaunchDaemons

Look for any files that appear suspicious, malicious, or intrusive. If you find any file that you may not have downloaded or may not appear authentic, then remove the files.

Some common malicious filenames will be: SearchMine, “com.SearchMineDaemon”, “com.SearchMine, “com.adobe.fpsaud.plist” , “com.SearchMine.plist”, “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, or “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”. If you come across such files, please delete them.

Move the suspicious files to Trash and then empty the Trash to permanently delete them from your system.

Step 3: Remove SearchMine extension and addon from your browsers- Safari, Chrome, and Firefox

Here, we will guide you on how to remove the SearchMine extension from the Safari browser.

  1. Open Safari.
  2. Go to Safari-> Preferences.
  3. Under the General tab, make sure to set the homepage to your desired homepage instead of SearchMine.
  4. Now click on the Extensions
  5. Scroll through the list and find SearchMine extension. Then click Uninstall to uninstall the extension from your browser.
  6. Delete Safari’s preference file to remove the malicious changes. Come back to the desktop and look at the top menu.
  7. Click on Go from the top menu and then select Go to Folder.
  8. Copy this path and past it in the address bar: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist
  • If this file is found, delete the file. Then restart the Safari browser.

Once the above steps are completed, it is time for you to install a fresh anti-malware app and scan your system for malware. Malwarebytes (https://www.malwarebytes.com/) is a spectacular anti-malware software for Windows and Mac that can remove even the most complex malware files from your system. After installing Malwarebytes, to remove SearchMine from Mac, make sure to scan your system for the first time. If any malicious files are found, quarantine the files and then restart your system to finally complete the clean-up process of your system.

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